Display of images with action zones

ABSTRACT

A method and system. An image, displayed on a display device, includes action zones. Maps of the image are stored. Each map defines, for a specific time stamp, a location for each action zone in the image. An operation of an action zone in the image displayed on the display device is received. The operation has a defined location in the image and a current time for an operation of the action zone. A time delay is applied to the current time to obtain a selection time for the operation of the action zone, by calculating the selection time as the current time minus the time delay. A map with a time stamp immediately prior to the selection time is determined from the maps. An action zone defined in the determined map and matching the defined location of the operation of the action zone in the image is operated.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to display of an image having one or moreaction zones.

BACKGROUND

As a browser loads a web page into memory and displays the web page on adisplay device, links on the web are not all loaded and displayedsimultaneously. Thus, positions of the links may be displayed on thedisplay device such that the displayed positions of the links may changedynamically while the web page is being loaded. As a result, userselection of the links on the display device while the web page is beingloaded may result in clicking on links that differ from the linksselected by the user.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method, and associatedcomputer program product and computer system. One or more processors ofthe computer system display an image on a display device. The imagecorresponds to a web page and comprises one or more action zones. Theone or more processors store a plurality of maps of the image. Each mapdefines, for a specific time stamp, a location for each action zone inthe image. The one or more processors receive an operation by a user ofan action zone in the image displayed on the display device. Theoperation has a defined location in the image and a current time for anoperation of the action zone. The one or more processors apply a timedelay to the current time to obtain a selection time for the operationof the action zone, by calculating the selection time as the currenttime minus the time delay. The one or more processors determine, fromthe plurality of maps, a map with a time stamp immediately prior to theselection time. The one or more processors operate an action zonedefined in the determined map and matching the defined location of theoperation of the action zone in the image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to the following drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system including a display device, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an image containing action zones, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of two maps of action zones in respectiveimages, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a timeline, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method of operating a system, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a touchscreen device, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system 10 including a display device12, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The system10 comprises a processor 14 connected to the display device 12, and amemory 15 (e.g. RAM) connected to the processor 14. The processor 14denotes one or more processors. The memory 15 denotes one or morememories. The system 10 also comprises two user interface devices 16(i.e., 16 a and 16 b) which are connected to the processor 14. In oneembodiment, the user interface device 16 a is a keyboard and the userinterface device 16 b is a mouse. FIG. 1 shows a conventional desktopcomputing arrangement as universally used by people in business,education and at home to perform tasks such as connecting to theInternet with a browser over a network connection. The processor 14controls what is displayed on the display device 12, for example bymaintaining one or more display buffers which contain pixel data for animage 18 shown on the display device 12. A computer readable hardwarestorage medium 40 (or hardware storage device 40) is provided, which maybe a computer program product (e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disk, hard disk,etc.) that stores program code comprising instructions configured tocontrol the processor 14 to operate the system 10. The hardware storagedevice (or medium) 40 denotes one or more hardware storage devices (ormediums). The processor 14 executes instructions from the program codeto operate the processor 14 via the memory 15.

The image 18 comprises one or more action zones 20, which are areas ofthe image 18 with which a user can interact directly through anon-screen cursor 22. For example, if the user is accessing a browser asa connection to the Internet, then a webpage accessed over the Internetmay have numerous action zones 20 which a user can click on with thecursor 22 to navigate to different webpages. The action zones 20 may beimplemented as buttons 20 or hyperlinks. A webpage may be provided withmultiple “virtual buttons” and hyperlinks that the user can press bylocating the on-screen cursor 22 on the virtual button or hyperlink andclicking the mouse 16 b to connect through the button or link tonavigate to a new webpage or access a webservice.

An action zone 20 is any area of the image 18 with which the user candirectly interact to perform a user interface action. On a webpage therewill be multiple links and virtual buttons that the user can click onwith the user's cursor 22, in order to perform some specific action suchas navigation to a new webpage. All web browsers load webpages anddisplay the action zones 20 to the end user through the browser'son-screen user interface. The user interaction with the on-screenbuttons 20 can also be via the keyboard 16 a of the system. Manybrowsers default a specific button on the screen to the return key andalso allow keyboard navigation of clickable buttons 20 that are shownwithin the image 18.

The system 10, and more specifically the processor 14, is arranged tooperate in a specific manner in relation to the loading and displayingof images 18 that contain action zones 20, with which the user caninteract. This operation is specifically relevant to the presentation ofwebpages by a browser, but is applicable to any image 18 that containsaction zones 20 that are accessed by the end user through on-screenselection. Although many modern users of browsers connect to theInternet at very high speeds over high performance network connectionssuch as broadband, webpages shown by browsers can take a significanttime to load completely and be displayed as intended.

One example of where this significant load time of browsers occurs iswhen a webpage includes an advertisement, for example as a banner at thetop of the webpage. Very many webpages that display advertisements do sowith reference to an ad server, which provides the advertisement beingdisplayed.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an image 18 containing action zones 20,in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2 showsthe image 18 on the display device 12, which includes a banner 24 for anadvertisement. The banner 24 is also an action zone, since a user canclick on the banner 24 to navigate to a webpage relating to the productor service being advertised in the banner 24. When a user navigates tothe original webpage, the user's browser may implement a load anddisplay process that will load and display the webpage while the contentof the banner 24 is also being called and loaded.

The effect of this load and display process is that the webpage maychange layout and content in front of the user's eyes, which isparticularly noticeable when the webpage is first loaded. The image 18and the location of one or more of the action zones 20 may change in thefirst few seconds as the banner 24 is loaded and displayed. Neither thelocal browser nor the original webpage will know the size and content ofthe banner 24 before the banner 24 is loaded, which will result in anuntidy reorganizing of the image 18 as different elements of the banner24 are loaded and displayed. The effect of this load and display processis that the action zones 20 can change position as different elementsare displayed.

In order to counteract the problem of the changing position of theaction zones 20 in an image 18, the processor 14 is arranged to store aplurality of maps of the image 18, each map defining, for a specifictime stamp, a location for each action zone 20 in the image 18.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of two maps 26 of action zones inrespective images, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention. FIG. 3 shows two maps 26 (i.e., 26 a and 26 b), each maphaving a respective time stamp 28. The first map 26 a shows a webpagethat has been first loaded in response to the user's original requestfor that webpage and the second map 26 b shows the same webpage soon(e.g., one second later) after a banner 24 (which is also an action zone20) has been loaded and displayed within the image 18.

The maps 26 are shown in FIG. 3 as being two-dimensional shapes matchingthe shapes of the images 18 and action zones 20, but the data that isstored in each map 26 can be represented in many different forms. Forexample, the x, y co-ordinates, and the size and shape of each actionzone 20 can be stored within the map 26, for example as a list of thedifferent action zones 20. Each map 26 contains information that allowsthe action zones 20 to be located within the image 18 for the specifictime stamp 28 of that map 26. Any user accessible content within theimage 18 counts as an action zone 20 and is therefore stored within therespective map 26 when that respective map 26 is created.

The processor 14 is arranged to detect a change in the image 18 andcreate a map 26 of the image 18, the map 26 defining, for a specifictime stamp 28, a location for each action zone 20 in the image 18. Thus,every time the processor 14 detects a change in the image 18 that isbeing displayed on the display device 12, a new map 26 is created with anew time stamp 28 and the action zones 20 within the respective image 18are stored within the new map 26. Any change in the image 18 leads to anew map 26 being created and a history of the changes in the location ofthe action zones 20 is stored in the different maps.

When a user makes an attempt to operate an action zone 20 within animage 18, for example by clicking on a link within a webpage, there is apossibility that the image 18 will change in the short period of timethat it takes the user to make a mental selection and perform thephysical action of clicking on the user's mouse 16 b. Tests show thatthere is a delay in the average person's decision making and performingof the physical action, in relation to the use of computer interfacedevice, of a time period of between 0.15 and 1.00 second. During thistime period if the webpage has changed significantly, then the endresult may be that the user activates the wrong action zone 20.

To reduce the risk of such an occurrence taking place, the processor 14,after receiving an operation of an action zone 20 in the image 18displayed on the display device 12, where the operation has a definedlocation in the image 18 and a current time for the operation of theaction zone 20, will apply a time delay to the current time to obtain aselection time for the operation of the action zone 20, the selectiontime being earlier than the current time by the time delay. The timedelay can by 0.50 of a second, for example. The time delay is applied tocompensate for user's reaction time and to take into account the factthat the webpage being accessed may have very recently changed. In oneembodiment, the time delay is predetermined. In one embodiment, the timedelay may be determined or changed dynamically by user input received atany time.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a timeline 30, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention. FIG. 4 illustrates the timeline 30which shows the two different maps 26 a and 26 b of the action zones 20,located on the timeline 30 according to the respective time stamps 28 ofthe different maps 26 a and 26 b. A user operation 32 is also shown onthe timeline 30 and this operation is the selection of one of the actionzones 20 within the image 18. As can be seen from the timeline 30, thecurrent time of the user operation 32 is after both of the two maps 26on the timeline 30, although the operation 32 is so close to the secondmap 26 b, there is a possibility of the user actually intending theoperation 32 to be in relation to the first map 26 a. The processor 14applies the time delay to the current time, by subtracting time delayfrom the current time, to obtain a selection time 34 (shown on thetimeline 30) for the operation 32 of the action zone 20, the selectiontime 34 being earlier than the current time, which results in theoperation 32 being performed in relation to the first map 26 a.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method of operating a system, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention. The method in the flowchartof FIG. 5 is carried out by the processor 14.

Step S5.1 comprises displaying an image 18 on the display device 14, theimage 18 corresponding to a web page and comprising one or more actionzones 20.

Step S5.2 comprises maintaining a plurality of maps 26 of the image 18,each map 26 defining, for a specific time stamp 28, a location for eachaction zone 20 in the image 18, so that the processor 14 createsmultiple maps 26 of the image 18 as the image 18 changes over time, forexample while initially loading a webpage.

Step S5.3—comprises receiving by the user an operation 32 of an actionzone 20 in the image 18 displayed on the display device 14, theoperation 32 having a defined location in the image 18 and a currenttime for the operation 32 of the action zone 20.

Step S5.4, in response to the user performing an operation, comprisesapplying a time delay to the current time, by subtracting the time delayfrom the current time, to obtain a selection time for the operation ofthe action zone, the selection time being earlier than the current time.Therefore, the processor 14 compensates for the delay in the user'saction.

Applying a time delay to a current time is defined as subtracting thetime delay from the current time.

Step S5.5 comprises determining, from the plurality of maps 26, a map 26with a time stamp 28 immediately prior to the selection time.

The method terminates with step S5.6, which comprises operating anaction zone 20 defined in the determined map 26 matching the definedlocation of the operation of the action zone 20 in the image 18. Oncethe user's time delay has been taken into account, the map 26 that waslive at the selection time (the current time minus the time delay) isused to determine which action zone 20 to use in response to thelocation of the user's action. Each action zone 20 has an associated oneor more operations to be performed in response to the action zone 20being selected by the user. Operating an action zone 20 is defined asperforming, by the processor 14, the one or more operations associatedwith the action zone 20.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a touchscreen device 36, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

Although the operation of the processor 14 has been described above inrelation to a desktop computer system 10 with a mouse 16 a and displaydevice 12, the use of the maps 26 and a time delay can be used in othercomputing systems, such as the touchscreen device 36 shown in FIG. 6.The touchscreen device 36 (a tablet computer) has a touchscreen 38 thatis a combined display device and user interface device. The touchscreen38 displays an image 18 that contains action zones 20. As discussedabove, loading of a webpage that includes a banner advertisement canresult in the page being loaded in incomplete form to start with.

A user may press on an action zone 20 on the touchscreen 38 with theuser's finger in order to make a selection of that action zone 20. Ifthe webpage continues to load while the user is performing the action ofmaking a touch on the touchscreen 38, then the desired action zone 20may move or no longer be shown on the touchscreen 38, which has thepotential to cause the user to touch the wrong action zone 20 and theprocessor 14 therefore applies a time delay to the user's action andchooses a map 26 of the image 18 and action zones 20 based on an earliertime.

The processor 14 can also be arranged to receive a user input inrelation to the time delay and set the time delay according to thereceived user input. The user can set the length of the time delay thatis applied to the user's input, either directly by adjusting the timelength in a settings menu or by performing a test which will displayaction zones 20 in the image 18 and ask the user to click on the actionzones 20 as soon as the action zones 20 appear, thereby determining alikely average or mean time delay for the user when performing theaction of selecting an on-screen action zone 20.

The time delay (TD) determined by the test (i.e. determined fromanalysis of the test data obtained from the test) may have a statisticaluncertainty and may be determined by the test data to be in a range ofTD_(m)±ΔTD, where TD_(m) is a mean time delay and ΔTD is an uncertaintyin the time delay (e.g., 1, 2 or 3 standard deviations from the meantime delay TD_(m)).

In one embodiment, the time delay used in step S5.4 is the mean timedelay TD_(m).

In one embodiment, the time delay used in step S5.4 is randomlyselected, from the range of TD_(m)±ΔTD (i.e., in the range of TD_(m)−ΔTDto TD_(m)+ΔTD), between steps S5.3 and S5.4, in accordance with aprobability density function (PDF) characterized by a probabilitydensity of zero outside the range, wherein the probability densityfunction within the range may be, inter alia, normally distributed(i.e., a normal probability distribution truncated at the boundaries ofthe range) or uniformly distributed (i.e., a uniform probabilitydistribution).

The processor 14 can also be arranged to discard a map 26 after aspecific time period has elapsed from the time stamp of the respectivemap 26. The processor 14 does not keep the maps 26 indefinitely and willdiscard the older maps 26 after a certain time has elapsed. This timeperiod can actually be quite short, such as ten seconds, as there is noneed to keep old maps 26 once the user's time delay has elapsed, sinceany selection made by the user will only be in relation to action zones20 that have existed on the display device 12 very recently and changesmade to the image 18 over ten seconds ago no longer have relevance tothe user selecting an action zone 20.

Use of the time delay by the present invention improves the functioningof a computer that comprises the processor 14, at least by reducing aprobability of operating, by the processor 14, an action zone thatdiffers from a different action zone intended by the user to beoperated.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

A computer program product of the present invention comprises one ormore computer readable hardware storage devices having computer readableprogram code stored therein, said program code containing instructionsexecutable by one or more processors to implement the methods of thepresent invention.

A computer system of the present invention comprises one or moreprocessors, one or more memories, and one or more computer readablehardware storage devices, said one or more hardware storage devicescontaining program code executable by the one or more processors via theone or more memories to implement the methods of the present invention.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers or ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, said method comprising: displaying, byone or more processors of a computer system, an image on a displaydevice, said image corresponding to a web page and comprising one ormore action zones; storing, by the one or more processors, a pluralityof maps of the image, each map defining, for a specific time stamp, alocation for each action zone in the image; receiving, by the one ormore processors, an operation by a user of an action zone in the imagedisplayed on the display device, said operation having a definedlocation in the image and a current time for an operation of the actionzone; applying, by the one or more processors, a time delay to thecurrent time to obtain a selection time for the operation of the actionzone, by calculating the selection time as the current time minus thetime delay; determining, by the one or more processors from theplurality of maps, a map with a time stamp immediately prior to theselection time; and operating, by the one or more processors, an actionzone defined in the determined map and matching the defined location ofthe operation of the action zone in the image.
 2. The method of claim 1,said method further comprising: detecting, by the one or moreprocessors, a change in the image; and creating, by the one or moreprocessors, one map of the plurality of maps of the image, said one mapdefining, for a specific time stamp, a location for each action zone inthe image.
 3. The method of claim 1, said method further comprising:receiving, by the one or more processors, a user input in relation tothe time delay; and setting, by the one or more processors, the timedelay according to the received user input.
 4. The method of claim 1,said method further comprising: discarding, by the one or moreprocessors, a map after a specific time period has elapsed from the timestamp of the respective map.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the timedelay is a predetermined time delay.
 6. The method of claim 1, saidmethod further comprising: after said receiving the operation and beforesaid applying the time delay, selecting, by the one or more processors,the time delay from a range of TD_(m)±ΔTD, wherein TD_(m) is a mean timedelay determined from test data and ΔTD is an uncertainty in the timedelay determined from the test data.
 7. The method of claim 6, whereinsaid selecting the time delay from the range comprises selecting thetime delay as being TD_(m).
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein saidselecting the time delay from the range comprises randomly selecting thetime delay from the range in accordance with a probability densityfunction characterized by a probability density of zero outside therange.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the probability densityfunction within the range is a normally distributed.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the probability density function within the range isuniformly distributed.
 11. A computer program product, comprising one ormore computer readable hardware storage devices having computer readableprogram code stored therein, said program code containing instructionsexecutable by one or more processors of a computer system to implement amethod, said method comprising: displaying, by the one or moreprocessors, an image on a display device, said image corresponding to aweb page and comprising one or more action zones; storing, by the one ormore processors, a plurality of maps of the image, each map defining,for a specific time stamp, a location for each action zone in the image;receiving, by the one or more processors, an operation by a user of anaction zone in the image displayed on the display device, said operationhaving a defined location in the image and a current time for anoperation of the action zone; applying, by the one or more processors, atime delay to the current time to obtain a selection time for theoperation of the action zone, by calculating the selection time as thecurrent time minus the time delay; determining, by the one or moreprocessors from the plurality of maps, a map with a time stampimmediately prior to the selection time; and operating, by the one ormore processors, an action zone defined in the determined map andmatching the defined location of the operation of the action zone in theimage.
 12. The computer program product of claim 11, said method furthercomprising: detecting, by the one or more processors, a change in theimage; and creating, by the one or more processors, one map of theplurality of maps of the image, said one map defining, for a specifictime stamp, a location for each action zone in the image.
 13. Thecomputer program product of claim 11, said method further comprising:receiving, by the one or more processors, a user input in relation tothe time delay; and setting, by the one or more processors, the timedelay according to the received user input.
 14. The computer programproduct of claim 11, said method further comprising: discarding, by theone or more processors, a map after a specific time period has elapsedfrom the time stamp of the respective map.
 15. The computer programproduct of claim 11, wherein the time delay is a predetermined timedelay.
 16. A computer system, comprising one or more processors, one ormore memories, and one or more computer readable hardware storagedevices, said one or more hardware storage device storing program codeexecutable by the one or more processors via the one or more memories toimplement a method, said method comprising: displaying, by the one ormore processors, an image on a display device, said image correspondingto a web page and comprising one or more action zones; storing, by theone or more processors, a plurality of maps of the image, each mapdefining, for a specific time stamp, a location for each action zone inthe image; receiving, by the one or more processors, an operation by auser of an action zone in the image displayed on the display device,said operation having a defined location in the image and a current timefor an operation of the action zone; applying, by the one or moreprocessors, a time delay to the current time to obtain a selection timefor the operation of the action zone, by calculating the selection timeas the current time minus the time delay; determining, by the one ormore processors from the plurality of maps, a map with a time stampimmediately prior to the selection time; and operating, by the one ormore processors, an action zone defined in the determined map andmatching the defined location of the operation of the action zone in theimage.
 17. The computer system of claim 16, said method furthercomprising: detecting, by the one or more processors, a change in theimage; and creating, by the one or more processors, one map of theplurality of maps of the image, said one map defining, for a specifictime stamp, a location for each action zone in the image.
 18. Thecomputer system of claim 16, said method further comprising: receiving,by the one or more processors, a user input in relation to the timedelay; and setting, by the one or more processors, the time delayaccording to the received user input.
 19. The computer system of claim16, said method further comprising: discarding, by the one or moreprocessors, a map after a specific time period has elapsed from the timestamp of the respective map.
 20. The computer system of claim 16,wherein the time delay is a predetermined time delay.